The news: Healthline Media settled with the California Attorney General’s office over allegations that Healthline.com failed to opt consumers out of having their personal information shared for targeted advertising. Our take: State health data privacy laws are new, meaning we will likely see increased scrutiny and more enforcement action against companies that previously went unchecked. Healthline and other health content companies must verify that their opt-out tools work as intended while being transparent with advertisers about the consumer data they can and cannot share with them.
The news: Several leading medical associations representing hundreds of thousands of US clinicians, as well as scientists, researchers, and public health workers, have sued HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top health officials over the government’s recent decision to make COVID-19 vaccines more restrictive. The big takeaway: Kennedy is running out of allies in the medical and pharma communities. If nothing else, the lawsuit could force Kennedy and his team to adhere to the legal framework in place for making sudden changes that disrupt the public’s access to vaccines.
The news: The newly passed Trump federal budget slashes healthcare spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. The takeaway: The cascading effect of federal spending cuts to Medicaid and ACA is poised to reshape US healthcare with more uninsured patients, lower payments and higher costs for physicians and healthcare systems, rural hospital closings, and increased costs for insurers. We expect advanced cost-cutting measures and lobbying for concessions as the industry braces for the initial effects next year.
The news: Dr. Kim Boyd, previously the chief medical officer of telehealth weight loss startup Calibrate, joins WeightWatchers as CMO as the company plans to launch perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause treatments and services for women ages 40-60 later this year. Our take: WeightWatchers will compete with several D2C telehealth for the underserved pre- and post-menopausal consumer market. However, we think its brand recognition among women ages 40-60, its long-standing weight loss support expertise and new Novo deal could catapult it ahead.
The news: Spain is investigating Novo Nordisk over a controversial obesity awareness ad campaign tied to its weight loss drugs. Our take: GLP-1 weight loss drugs are in demand, but drugmakers can’t afford any trust gaps with health systems and physicians in the competitive race for customers.
The trend: Pharma field teams saw 2.5 times more new patient starts if they used marketing content during healthcare provider visits, according to the Veeva Pulse Field Trends Report for Q1. The takeaway: Pharma marketing teams should focus on how the content they’re creating can boost field teams’ engagement with healthcare providers and advise reps on how and when to use materials.
The trend: Few consumers use AI tools for the health and wellness activities they participate in, according to a recent survey from Menlo Ventures and Morning Consult of 5,031 U.S. adults in April 2025. The big takeaway: Consumers are right on the cusp of using AI as a health information tool. AI tools are getting smarter, but can still be unreliable—one faulty response to a query about a person’s symptoms or health condition can turn a user off for good. AI platforms must train their models on credible medical sources and collaborate with clinicians to review outputs for accuracy.
The news: Here’s a look back at the most popular stories from January through June 2025. The final word: Gen Z’s healthcare attitudes, social health influencers, marketing strategies, and how patients use AI drew the most attention from our audience.
The news: A Microsoft AI pilot study showed a fourfold improvement in diagnostics compared with a panel of real doctors, but researchers acknowledged the continued need for human expertise. The takeaway: It’s evident AI is not a replacement for doctors, but it is a tool they should start adopting. There’s a window of opportunity for doctors and healthcare systems to grab a first-mover advantage by presenting AI as a co-pilot and a value-add that leads to more accurate diagnoses and more time spent with patients.
The news: The Trump administration recently met with leading retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, to explore ways in which more US consumers can get their prescription medications directly from pharma manufacturers, according to a Bloomberg report. Our take: It’s unrealistic to expect pharma’s middlemen to be cut out anytime soon, as they are so deeply rooted in the US healthcare infrastructure.
The news: Pharma advertisers spent more than $10 billion on prescription drug ads last year, with the top 10 drug brands accounting for $3.3 billion last year, per Fierce Pharma’s report based on MediaRadar data. Our take: As pharma marketers shift drug ad budgets from TV to more digital channels, they’ll have to shift thinking from spendy brand awareness to more nuanced messaging. Social media edutainment, paid AI search ads, and partnering with doctor and patient influencers can reach more relevant consumers and deliver higher ROI.
63% of millennials and 61% of Gen Zers feel more connected to health brands since starting GLP-1s, per a January Dentsu report.
The trend: Most healthcare and pharma marketers plan to increase their CTV/over-the-top (OTT) spending in the next year, according to Nielsen’s Global Annual Marketing Survey. Our take: CTV’s gain of healthcare and pharma ad dollars isn’t necessarily linear TV’s loss. Campaign strategies for linear should focus on brand awareness, while CTV allows drug ads to be highly targeted.
The news: Novo Nordisk is partnering with WeightWatchers to offer discounted Wegovy to cash-pay customers. Our take: WeightWatchers is recognizing that diet culture is being replaced by weight loss medications accessible via virtual care. To stand out from other Novo’s other telehealth partners, WeightWatchers should lean into marketing that positions the company as a pioneer weight loss brand that’s now meeting consumer demand for GLP-1s.
The news: Consumers who are more familiar with AI are also more likely to mistrust an AI-assisted diagnosis from their doctor, per a recently published Journal of Medical Internet Research survey. Our take: Physicians and healthcare marketers can’t assume people who are familiar with AI will be more comfortable with AI uses in healthcare. Marketers need to talk about AI as a tool with many positive effects like freeing doctors for longer personal interactions and resulting in fewer mistakes.
The upshot: The first meeting of a new and controversial CDC vaccine advisory panel signaled its intent to focus on childhood immunizations. The panel may change childhood vaccination approvals and scheduling. Our take: Pharma vaccine makers can’t stay quiet for much longer and can take a page from the medical associations by messaging to consumers and parents that they stand by their products.
The trend: US consumers trust the pharma companies that advertise the prescription drugs they’re taking. Our take: Pharma companies can take heart in knowing the people who take their drugs trust them and their advertising. But it’s also an opportunity for precise data and media targeting to reach new consumers who would be interested in their medication—undiagnosed people or competitors’ patients—and receptive to learning about them.
The news: During a Congressional subcommittee hearing, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid out his vision for all Americans to use a wearable with health-tracking capabilities within four years. Our take: Marketers should use Kennedy’s enthusiasm for wearables to their advantage. They should get out in front of the government’s ad campaign by developing their own promotions that inform consumers of wearables’ evolved health-tracking features beyond just counting calories and steps. They could target people who aren’t as familiar or have never used a health wearable due to price concerns or lack of tech-savviness.
The trend: Over three-quarters of US hospitals now task pharmacists with patient care responsibilities, according to a recently published survey from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Our take: Struggling retail pharmacies should also entrust pharmacists to play a bigger role in patient care, especially as some drugstores pivot to health-focused store formats.
The news: A majority of GLP-1 weight loss drug consumers are now staying on the medications for more than a year, per an annual Prime Therapeutics analysis. The Prime study includes 5,780 people via healthcare claims over three years; the mean age was 47 and 80% were women. The final word: Adherence rates longer than a year validates the idea that prescription weight loss GLP-1s, and newer drugs on the way, are here to stay as chronic disease treatments. It shifts typical weight loss marketing from cyclical—keep your New Year’s resolution or lose weight for your wedding—to medical and consistent.